CONTRACT NOTICE FOR CONTRACTS IN THE FIELD OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

II.1.2)

Type of service contract

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

II.1.3)

Information on framework agreement

The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Information on framework agreement (if applicable)

	Framework agreement with a single operators
	Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged

Duration of the framework agreement

Justification for a framework agreement the duration of which exceeds seven years

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded

II.1.5)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

The Ministry of Defence (“MOD”) is seeking to support the development and trial a low-cost interceptor, as detailed below:

• Optimised for drones, loitering munitions and missiles at close ranges and low altitudes

• Achieve a favourable ‘cost-exchange ratio’ and reliably counter diverse targets at varying speeds, altitudes, and trajectories

• The fundamental requirement being, cost-effective, multi-threat interception capability.

This requirement has been denoted Project GOSHAWK.

The purpose of this Contract Notice (“CN”) is to advertise the requirement and invite potential suppliers to express their interest to participate in the competitive procurement and receive the ITT for Project GOSHAWK. Suppliers should only respond if they are (themselves or as part of a consortium with other suppliers) in a position to undertake the full programme and can meet the full requirement as set out above.

As a pre-requisite, suppliers who intend to participate in Project GOSHAWK and who express an interest must be able to meet the following essential criteria:

1. Initial RFI response:

a. Be able to receive and process information classified up to SECRET (in accordance with the UK’s Government Security Classification Policy) from the commencement of the Project GOSHAWK contract in accordance with GovS 007: Security

b. Sign a Confidentiality Undertaking

c. An outline of the supplier’s existing capability, detailing cruise speeds, sprint speed, intercept ceiling, operational ranges, manoeuvrability, kinetic payload, guidance, seeker performance, communication requirements, capability protection, deliverability timeline, launch system, outline plan for testing against credible scenarios, target interception rates, production costs, deployment ready date and integration requirements.*

*Please note the information provided will be treated as commercially sensitive.

2. During the competition the suppliers will be required to demonstrate (including but not limited to and as will be further detailed in the procurement documentation):

a. Technical ability to develop low-cost missiles to meet the Authority’s requirements;

b. Future scalability of production for a potential follow on contract with an estimated demand of approximately 3,000 to 7,000 units per year, subject to successful trials. Further clarity of the estimated annual demand will be provided during the procurement, however the Authority reserves the right to not place any follow on contract(s);

c. Export controls - Ideally no export controls, but European export control will be acceptable if required

d. Desirable criteria – A high proportion of spend under this and any future related contracts will be UK based, which may include but not be limited to missile development and production.

Suppliers who provide the essential criteria listed at 1 (a) to (c) above will be invited to participate and submit a response to the GOSHAWK ITT (see further detail below). The Authority will reserve the right in its absolute discretion to exclude suppliers if they are not deemed to credibly meet the essential criteria above.

Intended Procurement Process

The procurement is planned to consist of:

• An Invitation to Tender (“ITT”). The ITT procurement process will be used to evaluate supplier’s tenders for a low-cost interceptor optimised for drones, loitering munitions and missiles at close ranges and low altitudes to reliably counter diverse targets at varying speeds, altitudes, and trajectories, with the fundamental requirement being, cost-effective, multi-threat interception capability. Contract: for Project GOSHAWK.

The Authority intends to award between one to two (1 – 2) contracts for Project GOSHAWK development and trialling, the terms of will be set out by the Authority in the procurement documents. It is anticipated that the Project GOSHAWK Contract(s) will last approximately twelve (12) months from Contract award.

The Project GOSHAWK contract(s) are a funded phase of the programme where suppliers will develop and mature their proposed solutions to meet the Authority’s requirements. The solutions will be trialled during the contract(s), further detail to be provided in the procurement documents. Subject to successful trials, the Authority currently intends to place one or more follow on contracts for the production of low-cost interceptors in the future.

General

Whilst what is set out above is the intended procurement process, the Authority, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to amend in any way and/or cancel the procurement process. The Authority reserves the right to withdraw this notice at any time for any reason.

The Authority reserves the right not to award any Contract to any supplier at any stage during the procurement. The Authority does not bind itself to enter into any Contract(s) arising out of the proceedings envisaged by this CN and no contractual rights express or implied arise out of this CN or the procedures envisaged by it.

This Procurement is exempt from the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 (“PA 2023”). By expressing and interest to participate in the Procurement you acknowledge (and continue to acknowledge) that none of the obligations, rights or remedies deriving from the PA 2023 apply to this Procurement.

Any suppliers who respond to this procurement (irrespective of whether they are assessed to meet the ITT requirements or are evaluated to be successful suppliers) shall be fully responsible for the cost of responding to the procurement and the Authority does not accept any liability for any costs howsoever incurred including but not limited to those costs arising out of or in connection with any amendment to, or cancellation of, the procurement process.

II.1.6)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.7)

Information about subcontracting

	The tenderer has to indicate in the tender any share of the contract it may intend to subcontract to third parties and any proposed subcontractor, as well as the subject-matter of the subcontracts for which they are proposed.
	The tenderer has to indicate any change occurring at the level of subcontractors during the execution of the contract.
	The contracting authority/entity may oblige the successful tenderer to award all or certain subcontracts through the procedure set out in Title III of Directive 2009/81/EC.
	The successful tenderer is obliged to specify which part or parts of the contract it intends to subcontract beyond the required percentage and to indicate the subcontractors already identified.
	The successful tenderer is obliged to subcontract the following share of the contract through the procedure set out in Title III of Directive 2009/81/EC: minimum percentage: (%), maximum percentage: (%) of the value of the contract. (The maximum percentage may not exceed 30% of the value of the contract)

II.1.8)

Division into lots

II.1.9)

Will variants be accepted

Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial and Technical Information

III.2)

Conditions for Participation

III.2.1)

Personal situation

Expression of Interest

Suppliers who meet the essential criteria are required to follow the following process to express their interest:

1. If your organisation does not currently have a Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) account please register using the link below:

Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP)

https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/ogc-host/public/mod/web/user-guide.html

2. Once your organisation has registered for a DSP account and submitted the MS Office form, the Authority will contact you regarding GOSHAWK via the DSP or by email:

Supplier Expression of Interest – Project GOSHAWK

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5ePxmzPP82ZJrcZtbZ5ndhRUNlJMSjk5MEdJR1NDQ0M5VDNCMFA4UzM5My4u

3. Once your organisation has a DSP account and you have submitted your MS Office form, the Authority will add you to the GOSHAWK procurement area on the DSP.

The Authority will then issue further instructions, enabling you to provide the following information on the portal:

a. Confirmation of acceptance of the Security Aspects Letter which includes the ability to receive and store information classified up to SECRET at the contract delivery stage.

b. Confidentiality Agreement signed by the bidder’s relevant authorised personnel

c. Outline of the supplier’s existing capability and the details specified at 1c above. Suppliers who express an interest in this procurement and who have returned the required information and documentation will be considered to participate in the Procurement.

4. The deadline for expressing an interest and submitting the above information via the DSP is 12:00 midday on 9th February 2026. The Authority reserves the right to reject any expressions of interest (included the relevant information and documentation) received after this time, in the Authority’s sole discretion.

Expression of Interest

Suppliers who meet the essential criteria are required to follow the following process to express their interest:

1. If your organisation does not currently have a Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) account please register using the link below:

Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP)

https://contracts.mod.uk/esop/ogc-host/public/mod/web/user-guide.html

2. Once your organisation has registered for a DSP account and submitted the MS Office form, the Authority will contact you regarding GOSHAWK via the DSP or by email:

Supplier Expression of Interest – Project GOSHAWK

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7WB3vlNZS0iuldChbfoJ5ePxmzPP82ZJrcZtbZ5ndhRUNlJMSjk5MEdJR1NDQ0M5VDNCMFA4UzM5My4u

3. Once your organisation has a DSP account and you have submitted your MS Office form, the Authority will add you to the GOSHAWK procurement area on the DSP.

The Authority will then issue further instructions, enabling you to provide the following information on the portal:

a. Confirmation of acceptance of the Security Aspects Letter which includes the ability to receive and store information classified up to SECRET at the contract delivery stage.

b. Confidentiality Agreement signed by the bidder’s relevant authorised personnel

c. Outline of the supplier’s existing capability and the details specified at 1c above. Suppliers who express an interest in this procurement and who have returned the required information and documentation will be considered to participate in the Procurement.

4. The deadline for expressing an interest and submitting the above information via the DSP is 12:00 midday on 9th February 2026. The Authority reserves the right to reject any expressions of interest (included the relevant information and documentation) received after this time, in the Authority’s sole discretion.

III.2.2)

Economic and financial standing

III.2.3)

Technical and/or professional capacity

III.2.4)

Reserved contracts

	The contract is restricted to sheltered workshops
	The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of Procedure

IV.1.1)

Type of Procedure

	Restricted
	Accelerated restricted
	Negotiated
	Accelerated negotiated
	Competitive dialogue

Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure

IV.1.2)

Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates

IV.1.3)

Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated

IV.3 Administrative Information

IV.3.1)

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

	Prior Information Notice
	Notice on a Buyer Profile

Other previous publications

IV.3.3)

Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)

Time-limit for requests to participate

IV.3.5)

Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

Section VI: Complimentary Information

VI.1)

Indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the Estimated timing for further notices to be published

VI.2)

Does the contract relate to a Project/Programme financed by Community Funds?

VI.3)

Additional Information

The Contracting Authority intends to use an e-Tendering system in this procurement exercise, please visit www.contracts.mod.uk for full details and to register your interest in this procurement.

VI.4)

Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.2)

Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals:

VI.4.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)

Dispatch date of this Notice